WASHINGTON: GOP Pays Anti-Gay Group To Train Capitol Hill Staffers

Roll Call reports that four GOP members of the House used congressional funds to send staffers to a leadership conference run by the Indiana Family Institute, an affiliate of the Family Research Council. And of course, that is weasel-y legal.

House rules prohibit the use of official funds for political purposes, but the House Administration Committee’s “member Handbook” allows expenditures for “ordinary and necessary expenses for Members or employees to attend conferences, seminars, briefings, professional training, and informational programs related to the official and representational duties to the district from which elected.” Josh Gillespie, Burton’s communications director and an alumni of the Indiana Family Institute training program, points out that the training is run through IFI’s nonprofit arm — not the PAC — so “any money coming from our office is not going to any political activity.” The IFI website describes the Hoosier Congressional Policy Leadership Series as a monthly class intended to “advance conservative policy and faith-based servant leadership principles” among Indiana “community leaders.”